FAI Invites First Division Expressions of Interest

[legendz]

That's all true. Lumping on a play-off for the sake of it is rudiculous.


I have to say, I still believe the league should go to a 16 team Premier Division. B teams and all other interested parties then in a regionalised second tier.


It's notable Pro 12 attendances in Munster are down, something like 7500 last Friday. I can't speak of Ulster and Leinster. There's only a few GAA counties who get crowds of around 7000 for their national league games. A lot of people traditionally as we know are event junkies.


If the league ever reached a level where about 6 clubs were getting around 6000 on a regular basis, I think that'll be a great position for the league.


In Limerick and back home in the county of Kerry, the league doesn't make much impact on sporting discussions. That is a problem for the league. There cannot be a divet on a pitch every week to get people speaking of the league!

[Longfordian]

I see a couple of the Shamrock Rovers B lads from last year have been signed by Shels and Pats. No Rovers B team next year so?

[disgruntled]

I see a couple of the Shamrock Rovers B lads from last year have been signed by Shels and Pats. No Rovers B team next year so?

I'm sure they have more than two players :D

[Dodge]

I'm sure they have more than two players :D

Of course but if the point of it is to develop players for their first team, then letting 2 highly rated prospects go is a bit odd. Sandford was top scorer with their 19s for a couple of years but must feel like Shels is better for him now

[legendz]

Have any other clubs expressed interest in entering a B team?

[Longfordian]

Of course but if the point of it is to develop players for their first team, then letting 2 highly rated prospects go is a bit odd. Sandford was top scorer with their 19s for a couple of years but must feel like Shels is better for him now

That's more or less what I wanted to say but didn't have time to do so! Although the main memory I have of O'Malley was the absolute nightmare he had against us the night we won the league.

[Dodge]

I've never seen him play but he won their POTY award so can't be awful. He goes to NUI Maynooth so his coaches there would be Ger O'Brien and Brendan Clarke. They'd know his potential even if he hasn't done well for Rovers

[Longfordian]

Yeah in fairness I've no idea what his season was like. I only saw him play a maximum of twice (I'm not sure if he played in our second game in Tallaght) and he's obviously very young for a keeper.

[disgruntled]

Of course but if the point of it is to develop players for their first team, then letting 2 highly rated prospects go is a bit odd. Sandford was top scorer with their 19s for a couple of years but must feel like Shels is better for him now

Rovers probably reckoned that he wasn't going to make it with them.
Didn't score a goal last season with the B's as far as I can see & only made a few appearances.
Was mostly on the bench.

[Longfordian]

He scored 2 against Shels after coming on as sub I think. He was well regarded at Rovers by all accounts. They scored very few goals as a team. Daniel Purdy got most of them and he was an established LOI player who was wasting his time playing with the B team.

[disgruntled]

He scored 2 against Shels after coming on as sub I think. He was well regarded at Rovers by all accounts. They scored very few goals as a team. Daniel Purdy got most of them and he was an established LOI player who was wasting his time playing with the B team.

Yes that's right.
I suppose his contract was up so he decided to move on or maybe there was some other reason ?

[Longfordian]

Could be. I was just putting two and two together given the previous rumblings that Nutsy didn't want the B team and the players had been told to find new teams.

[JC_GUFC]

The problem with the B team is that it seemed to be a big expense for little return.
A lot of the players who played this season are never going to be good enough to progress to the first team. They would be better off signing those that have potential and then loaning them to Shels/Athlone/Wexford etc.
Rovers paying the wages of someone like Chris Lyons who has already been at UCD and Bohs makes no sense.

[Macy]

The problem with the B team is that it seemed to be a big expense for little return.
A lot of the players who played this season are never going to be good enough to progress to the first team. They would be better off signing those that have potential and then loaning them to Shels/Athlone/Wexford etc.
Rovers paying the wages of someone like Chris Lyons who has already been at UCD and Bohs makes no sense.
Wouldn't think he is or was on big wages at either club, but they signed Purdy off us as well - at that stage he'd either done enough in the first to show he could step up, or he hadn't, so what was the point?

[JC_GUFC]

Wouldn't think he is or was on big wages at either club, but they signed Purdy off us as well - at that stage he'd either done enough in the first to show he could step up, or he hadn't, so what was the point?

Yeah I'm sure he was on pittance but it could have been better used elsewhere in the club (a goal bonus for one of their strikers maybe!!)

With Purdy they probably saw his potential so wanted him on their books than elsewhere which is fair enough.

[Longfordian]

Yeah, said above Purdy was just wasting his time there. He may have thought he could move up to the first team if he impressed but he didn't get a sniff all season. He was good enough to be a starter for us if he'd stayed on but apparently he and TC weren't seeing eye to eye.

[Dodge]

The problem with the B team is that it seemed to be a big expense for little return.
A lot of the players who played this season are never going to be good enough to progress to the first team. They would be better off signing those that have potential and then loaning them to Shels/Athlone/Wexford etc.
Rovers paying the wages of someone like Chris Lyons who has already been at UCD and Bohs makes no sense.

To be fair to Rovers, I don't think you can judge something like this on a one season return. The idea is to make it a continual path from the (upcoming) u17s to the u19s to the Bs to the first team. It could take years to prove it's worth

Last year they seemed to throw a few players in there to fill out the team but they still had the likes of Kavanagh, Osam and Heaney who could all make the step up

[disgruntled]

To be fair to Rovers, I don't think you can judge something like this on a one season return. The idea is to make it a continual path from the (upcoming) u17s to the u19s to the Bs to the first team. It could take years to prove it's worth

Last year they seemed to throw a few players in there to fill out the team but they still had the likes of Kavanagh, Osam and Heaney who could all make the step up

This is my way of looking at it as well.
Its about progression up through the ranks.
At the end of each season some players will be let go & others brought in.
If a club could get one or two to step up to the Senior squad each season they'd be doing well.

[nigel-harps1954]

Well, if you look at it one way, it certainly was a success even in one season.

The team themselves might not have lit up the First Division, but the fact three or four players were able to get valuable senior football experience before progressing into the First team has to be seen as a real positive for Rovers.

Its always been said that if you only get 3 players out of an underage squad, you're doing well.

[Ezeikial]

If the cost of running a B team is in the region of €100k that has been touted, getting 1 or 2 players a year graduating to the senior squad is hardly a good benchmark of value.

It's about quality rather then quantity

[Titan]

So have there been any expressions of interest does anyone know?

[Longfordian]

Seems the Rovers B team is a goner

http://www.thesun.ie/irishsol/homepage/sport/6105963/Rovers-to-ditch-B-team.html

[Mr A]

At the recent event at the Aviva organised by the Irish Supporters Network Fran Gavin said the FAI were talking to other clubs about coming in. This becomes a very urgent thing if we're down to 7 teams.

[brendy_éire]

Cue desperate search for a replacement.
Cork B? Pats B? Kerry League?

[Dodge]

There won't be any B teams. Pats and Cork both say it's too expensive

[disgruntled]

If the cost of running a B team is in the region of €100k that has been touted, getting 1 or 2 players a year graduating to the senior squad is hardly a good benchmark of value.

It's about quality rather then quantity

I suppose if that were the case then why would clubs bother with Under 15's upwards at all if all they will ever get out of it is one or two senior players after maybe having players for five or six years?
Clubs in the League of Ireland would be largely selling clubs in that any promising players are sold off cross channel. The income from this enables a club to improve their senior team by means of employing better players to supplement those born locally & brought up through the clubs under age system & without blowing their budget.

It also helps them improve their under age system so that they may improve the players they have by better coaching & facilities.This is how a lot of clubs both here & in the UK survive. Otherwise because of small gate receipts & poor support they would quickly go out of business.

Other clubs prefer to spend money including money they don't have in buying in players by way of signing on fee's & big salaries in the hope it brings success.
In some cases it does bring success but in a lot of cases it doesn't which leaves a club with big debts, no money & nothing to show for all the money spent chasing the dream.

I suppose it all depends on where in the country the club is from & what their philosophy on football is.

[Charlie Darwin]

There won't be any B teams. Pats and Cork both say it's too expensive
Funnily enough a lot of A teams say the same thing. It's almost as if there are more barriers to playing football in this country than incentives.

[JC_GUFC]

What I felt from having seen the team a few times was that there were a number of players who were just never going to make it up to Rovers' first team squad and that would have been known at the start of the season.
During the season it also seemed as if the u19s were given priority over the Bs so the likes of Mark Sandford played for the 19s instead of the Bs. Obviously with no chance of promotion that was fair enough for Rovers to do that.
Aside from all that I wasn't really mad on the idea of them forming part of a league. The chopping and changing of their team from week to week didn't sit well with me from the idea of what a league should be...

[Dodge]

So we're back to arguing about a 7 team league now...

[Mr A]

Which is mighty if you're a club trying to put your squad and budget together for next year.

[nigel-harps1954]

No doubt we'll see another quick fix from the FAI to paper over the cracks.

[Ezeikial]

If the cost of running a B team is in the region of €100k that has been touted, getting 1 or 2 players a year graduating to the senior squad is hardly a good benchmark of value.

It's about quality rather then quantity


I suppose if that were the case then why would clubs bother with Under 15's upwards at all if all they will ever get out of it is one or two senior players after maybe having players for five or six years?
Clubs in the League of Ireland would be largely selling clubs in that any promising players are sold off cross channel. The income from this enables a club to improve their senior team by means of employing better players to supplement those born locally & brought up through the clubs under age system & without blowing their budget.

It also helps them improve their under age system so that they may improve the players they have by better coaching & facilities.This is how a lot of clubs both here & in the UK survive. Otherwise because of small gate receipts & poor support they would quickly go out of business.

Other clubs prefer to spend money including money they don't have in buying in players by way of signing on fee's & big salaries in the hope it brings success.
In some cases it does bring success but in a lot of cases it doesn't which leaves a club with big debts, no money & nothing to show for all the money spent chasing the dream.

I suppose it all depends on where in the country the club is from & what their philosophy on football is.


So it seems that you agree after all ............ It's about quality rather then quantity

[disgruntled]

There won't be any B teams. Pats and Cork both say it's too expensive

If the FAI want teams to enter the 1st Division then they must help them.
Scrap any entry fees & support clubs who are willing to enter.
For instance pay the match officials fees for a start.
There is no point in trying to get clubs to enter when most clubs in the country who might be interested can't afford it.

[disgruntled]

So it seems that you agree after all ............ It's about quality rather then quantity

Its always about quality but to get one quality player it might be necessary to go through twenty.

[Charlie Darwin]

What I felt from having seen the team a few times was that there were a number of players who were just never going to make it up to Rovers' first team squad and that would have been known at the start of the season.
During the season it also seemed as if the u19s were given priority over the Bs so the likes of Mark Sandford played for the 19s instead of the Bs. Obviously with no chance of promotion that was fair enough for Rovers to do that.
Aside from all that I wasn't really mad on the idea of them forming part of a league. The chopping and changing of their team from week to week didn't sit well with me from the idea of what a league should be...
Rovers wanted to take the U19 team out of the league and effectively make it the B team. FAI wouldn't sanction that, so Rovers were basically running three teams, so a lot of chopping and changing had to be done between the three squads.


If the FAI want teams to enter the 1st Division then they must help them.
Scrap any entry fees & support clubs who are willing to enter.
For instance pay the match officials fees for a start.
There is no point in trying to get clubs to enter when most clubs in the country who might be interested can't afford it.
No chance. If the FAI agreed to do that for Cork, Pats and Rovers, the other 16 clubs would be up in arms about unfair treatment.

[disgruntled]

Rovers wanted to take the U19 team out of the league and effectively make it the B team. FAI wouldn't sanction that, so Rovers were basically running three teams, so a lot of chopping and changing had to be done between the three squads.


No chance. If the FAI agreed to do that for Cork, Pats and Rovers, the other 16 clubs would be up in arms about unfair treatment.

Not just those three.
Do it for all the 1st Division.
Help to establish the 1st Division as a whole.
Most of the clubs in the 1st div are pretty broke anyway.

Encourage clubs to put teams in the 1st Div by helping them to lessen the cost of competing in that division.
There are many clubs around the country who would be interested but just can't afford the expense.
The travel costs alone would cripple them.

If the FAI ever want the 1st Division to be a success then they must help those clubs willing to compete in that division.
Otherwise we are going to revisit this topic again & again over the years that's if the 1st Div even lasts that long.

[Charlie Darwin]

Not just those three.
Do it for all the 1st Division.
Help to establish the 1st Division as a whole.
Most of the clubs in the 1st div are pretty broke anyway.

Encourage clubs to put teams in the 1st Div by helping them to lessen the cost of competing in that division.
There are many clubs around the country who would be interested but just can't afford the expense.
The travel costs alone would cripple them.

If the FAI ever want the 1st Division to be a success then they must help those clubs willing to compete in that division.
Otherwise we are going to revisit this topic again & again over the years that's if the 1st Div even lasts that long.
I'd agree with that but ultimately the league is set up the way the FAI want it to be - it pays for itself and nobody complains too much.

[DRDoc]

So we're back to arguing about a 7 team league now...

No no no need for that

Surely the city of Galway could support another LOI team?

Maybe one of the leading Junior clubs with good underage structures and a solid base in the local community would be interested

[Charlie Darwin]

No no no need for that

Surely the city of Galway could support another LOI team?

Maybe one of the leading Junior clubs with good underage structures and a solid base in the local community would be interested
I think you might be on to something there... but why stop at one?

[gufcfan]

Surely the city of Galway could support another LOI team?

Speaking of which, the clown responsible for that who used it for his own ends got elected again. Disgusting.

[sullanefc]

Speaking of which, the clown responsible for that who used it for his own ends got elected again. Disgusting.
Is that a paid position?

[gufcfan]

Is that a paid position?

Not directly.

[El-Pietro]

I'd agree with that but ultimately the league is set up the way the FAI want it to be - it pays for itself and nobody complains too much.
It does more than pay for itself, it pays towards the stadium debt every year.

The entry fee is less than the total prize money. Then you add in fines and sponsorship money and its clear that the FAI are taking money out of the LOI every year.

[disgruntled]

Originally Posted by disgruntled http://foot.ie/images/buttons/viewpost-right.png (http://foot.ie/showthread.php?p=1793390#post1793390)
Not just those three.
Do it for all the 1st Division.
Help to establish the 1st Division as a whole.
Most of the clubs in the 1st div are pretty broke anyway.

Encourage clubs to put teams in the 1st Div by helping them to lessen the cost of competing in that division.
There are many clubs around the country who would be interested but just can't afford the expense.
The travel costs alone would cripple them.

If the FAI ever want the 1st Division to be a success then they must help those clubs willing to compete in that division.

Otherwise we are going to revisit this topic again & again over the years that's if the 1st Div even lasts that long.


I'd agree with that but ultimately the league is set up the way the FAI want it to be - it pays for itself and nobody complains too much.

I also think that most would agree that the FAI plan for the 1st Div hasn't worked for football & the clubs involved as we now seem to be reduced to seven in the number of clubs that can somehow afford to take part.
The FAI need to treat the 1st Div as the basket case it is & somehow nurse it back to health.
They need to put all thoughts of profit to one side & help & encourage those clubs willing to take part.
Maybe when the 1st Div returns to a healthy & viable competition the FAI can once again return to milking it for all its worth.

[Mr A]

While I agree the FAI need to get the finger out, all league clubs need to recognise that a healthy second tier or indeed league in general is in their interests. Currently the FAI can argue that the majority of clubs have no interest in change.

[disgruntled]

While I agree the FAI need to get the finger out, all league clubs need to recognise that a healthy second tier or indeed league in general is in their interests. Currently the FAI can argue that the majority of clubs have no interest in change.

Then the FAI need to show leadership which at this time they're not doing.
Otherwise the League of Ireland will do what is has always done, stumble from one crisis to the next.

[JC_GUFC]

Has anyone even heard any rumours of their being an 8th team next season?

7 teams would be a total disaster - that's just 12 home games for each club next season and there would be 4 "bye weeks" during the season with no game at all.

[Mr A]

I've heard rumours there are a couple of teams interested. Not sure who or how serious that is though.

[Dodge]

Shels responded to a comment on their facebook page that there will be 8 clubs in it next year


We're told it will be eight again this season. New team's identity not being released yet.


https://www.facebook.com/shelbournefc/photos/a.694756217222539.1073741827.255580571140108/858007614230731/?type=1

[nigel-harps1954]

Hearing the same old rumours going around, Carlow/Kilkenny team playing out of Buckley Park, Kerry League side, even Monaghan United returning.

Suppose we'll most likely find out around end of January.